RobiNZ CAD Blog

Architechure - A blog by Phil Read (yes that Phil Read)

A long time ago, OK so it was sometime in 2001, a guy called Phil Read came to our office with this software he reckoned was the best thing ever for AEC design. It would, he said, make CAD obsolete.

I was rather skeptical but the application he showed, although rather raw, justified his enthusiasm. Over the years Revit has become a platform which made that prophecy a reality.

In 2001 Phil was a Revit implementation wizard, later an Autodesk Revit implementation wizard, but now he’s back in the trenches as Vice President - Director of Technology for HNTB Architecture. He’s also a Revit User with a blog. Having seen what he’s done with Revit, at AU and other places, it’s one to keep an eye on!

Architechure - architechure.blogspot.com
Design + Technology

via Steve & AUGI
* Photo borrowed from his profile without permission, copyright P Read!

Revit Technology Conference 2008 - Revit User Group Sydney

The Revit Technology Conference is happening in Sydney, late June. I attended the NZ event last year & it was a great Revit focused “Mini Autodesk University”. It’s a chance to hear about the latest in BIM technology, see how others are applying it (in real projects), learn new techniques and meet fellow Revit users. I know several from the Revit User Group of New Zealand are attending. See the link below for more information on the event & registration:

Revit User Group Sydney :: RTC 2008 - www.rugsyd.com.au/rtc2008
Following the success of our Roadshow in 2007 (Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Melbourne, and Perth), the RTC Committee have pleasure in inviting you and your team to attend the Annual Conference to be held in Brighton Beach, Sydney. The Conference aims to draw attendees from throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as other Asia Pacific regions.
The 2008 Annual Conference is to be held Thursday 26 June – Saturday 28 June at the Novotel Brighton Beach, Sydney.

Tags: rugsyd

David's Design ReForm

David Fano’s Design ReForm is a blog with tutorials and explorations in parametric modelling using applications like 3ds Max, Revit, Maya, and Rhino. I hadn’t found it, until he emailed me, so I’m really glad he did.

Go have a look, I’ve subscribed!

Web: http://designreform.net/       Feed: http://designreform.net/feed/

Breaking barriers with Salesoft CAD Solutions - Autodesk 2009 Launch

UPDATE 2008–04–2: Picture added

Salesoft CAD Solutions had their “Autodesk 2009” launch today and the theme was “Breaking the Barriers”.

After a brief introduction from Rich Sales, yes it’s really his name, there were sessions which focused on a tour of the new features in Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure, AutoCAD and Max. Although this was handled by splitting into application focused groups there was a lot of material to cover in the time available.

For his AutoCAD session Gary adopted the cunning plan (which I’ve also used) of using Camtasia recordings rather than live demos. This allows you to see the software in action - as if live - but lets the presenter concentrate on presentation, rather than operation. It was great for showing the extensive user interface changes in AutoCAD 2009.

Then after a lunch break there was an impressive customer presentation by Auckland’s Morrison Architects. This showcased their use of Revit it all kinds of projects from a small bathroom renovation to large commercial building fit-outs and everything in between. You can see some of the work shown in their web gallery.

Guest Speaker Brian Wilson, from the School of Philosophy, followed with a great talk on breaking mental barriers. He mentioned a lecture by Andy Pausch whose lessons on life were delivered in “His last Lecture” (see video summary below or full transcript). I first stumbled upon this last September but it’s such a powerful message it deserves a repeat showing here.

We were then split into two groups for some barrier breaking activities;

Downstairs, Segway NZ had a variety of machines to test drive. Luckily this was inside the hotel convention space, avoiding a torrential downpour, but there was plenty of room to zoom around and the columns were ideal for those wanting a slalom. Riding a Segway for the first time is strange, especially if used to a bicycle. You have to learn not to balance and trust the Segway will do it for you, which it does!

Upstairs, everyone attending got to literally “break a barrier” after a quick Karate lesson. We were issued with a plank to break, which everyone did, with Rich delivering the final chop (below) *.

It was an interesting format, breaking the barriers of the typical software launch. Thanks to the Salesoft team for an enjoyable event but maybe, for 2010, I’d consider having slightly longer product sessions.

UPDATE 2008–04–2: Julia sent me this image today with the line “A reminder that you too have strong powers of focus and intent!” to which I’d add “and a sore hand!” **

* The YouTube video above is by me. Eboss were recording the sessions, with better cameras than my old 300 pixel movie Canon Ixus, to be posted mid-April.
** Just kidding, no CAD Bloggers were harmed in the making of this post!

Tags: Salesoft+CAD+Solutions, Autodesk, Hilton

Time flies, it’s Autodesk 2009!

Autodesk have announced their “2009” product releases including AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture/MEP and Revit Architecture/MEP. While there is a lot to see in these products some of the announcements made today regarding acquisitions and subscription are just as interesting. It’s a month or so before the release products ship but via the MyFeedback program I’ve had access to a few of them for a while. There are some major changes in all the applications and lots of refinements, although some I’d classify as bug fixes. These are my highlights from the releases, I’ll follow with more detail in future posts. To maximise browser compatibility I’ve shared animations (captured with Camtasia) in .gif format which does limit colour and gradient rendition. The static captures are a better guide to the true appearance, in my case as seen on Windows XP, and details may change between now & release.

AutoCAD 2009 – It’s the User Interface… 

While there are lots of refinements the major impact is how AutoCAD looks and feels. If you’ve recently upgraded to Office 2007 things might seem a little more familiar but AutoCAD veterans are in for a shock. AutoCAD has adopted many of the principles and general layout of the Microsoft Fluent UI however, unlike Office, Autodesk’s interface allows full customisation. It’s all new from the “A” (for AutoCAD) desktop icon to the “AutoCAD” Button, Menu Browser and Ribbon. Even the old status bar text toggles have changed to swish new icons. The focus shifts from tools to tasks as, like Office, the interface attempts to present tools and controls relevant to your work-flow. If your priorities differ the AutoCAD Ribbon allows the same level of customisation as the previous toolbar UI. Unlike Microsoft Office, AutoCAD also retains the old UI so those who can’t live without the legacy Menu/Toolbar model have still that option. Of course the command line, dynamic cursor input and keyboard shortcuts are there for those who prefer the keyboard approach.

• This  capture shows the “AutoCAD Button” and Menu Browser which allows access to Menus, Recent & Open Files and Recent Actions. The options for thumbnail and image previews make finding & selecting files easier. The Quick Access toolbar (next to the A, displaying New, Open, Save etc here) can hold any command you use frequently.

• Below you see a few features of the AutoCAD Ribbon in action. It can be partially or completely hidden (it flies out when you hover over it) and the individual panels can be pinned open or torn off. New look icons and tool-tips are featured which have a crisp, if monotone, appearance more like Inventor.  The ribbon is customised using the CUI (shudder) and combines with the existing “workspace” and Tool Palettes to support a task focused approach. Sadly the appearance is a bit Henry Ford! Any colour you like as long as it is dark or light grey. I suspect it was designed for Vista as, to my eyes, clashes horribly with the default XP blue & beige. I’m running XP with the grey theme which is more acceptable. Layers can be managed from the Ribbon Panel, a traditional layer dialog or a new mode-less, always open, dialog.

• The new status icons for Snap, Grid, Ortho, Polar etc replace the old text labels.

• AutoCAD now features refined 3D View Cube (nice!) and Steering Wheel controls (yuk!) similar to those previously seen in Autodesk Design Review!

AutoCAD Architecture 2009 – Refinement, Refinement…

As usual AutoCAD Architecture inherits many of the AutoCAD features, but interestingly not all. It makes less use of the Ribbon and won’t use the mode-less Layer dialog seen in AutoCAD. It features improvements to Walls (Cleanup and end-caps), Spaces and Project Navigator to aid work-flow. Perhaps my favourite feature is a tiny one. When you have over a hundred live projects the ability to close the current one from Project Navigator, without opening and finding it in Project Browser, is awesome!

• AutoCAD Architecture in Design Workspace Menu/Toolbar and Visualisation Workspace Ribbon mode.

Revit Architecture 2009 – Exceptional Rendering…

Yes, Revit could always render, thanks to Accurender, but invariably it looked “OK, except…”. For 2009 the factory have incorporated the high quality Mental Ray render engine as seen in Max, AutoCAD and other products. This change alone would justify Revit 2009 for me but there are many other improvements. Sadly apart from an “R” desktop icon (get it?) Revit has not benefited from major UI changes other than the View Cube and Steering Wheel 3D viewing controls seen in other Autodesk products. The new render UI is delightfully simple and credit to the team. Inter-operation between Revit and Max has also been improved.

Other announcements:

• Autodesk announce acquisitions of analysis technologies from Green Building Studio and Carmel Software
• Autodesk Impression free for AEC application subscription customers!? See this post for more detail
• 3ds Max Design and 3ds Max 2009 Entertainment announced. Autodesk also announced Viz development is ending and it’s “encouraging customers to shift to 3ds Max Design”. As a Viz user, subscriber, I’ll be interested to see what form this “encouragement” takes as the press release only has US pricing!

That’s all for now, it’s time for bed!

Tags: Autodesk, 2009

Revit and AutoCAD's Visual Styles - A SketchUp alternative?

I heard of Revit users experimenting with Google SketchUp for presentations in an attempt to get a more natural “conceptual look” than Revit allows. Many Revit users also have AutoCAD available so I though it’s conceptual visual styles were worth trying. This sample is just a play Revit model but has a mix of default Revit walls, curtain wall and site elements.

The screenshot below shows that Revit model imported into AutoCAD (Click on the thumbnail for a larger view).

1. Viewport 1 shows the raw import. The rather garish colours are from the default Revit layer settings but the concept styles ignore these colours so there is no need to change them..
2. Viewport 2 has a conceptual style applied with a “Gooch” face style.  The visual styles allow slider adjustment of edge weights, line overhang, “roughness” and outline thickness. These can be combined to get many looks within a style setting.
3. Viewport 3 has a sepia face style with the transparency button enabled. It allows some vision through even solid objects to see the form.
4. Viewport 4 is a plan view with no face style and heavy use of the line effects. It’s a reasonable look to simulate a pen drawing.

AutoCAD Visual styles, like Revit shaded views, are quick and easy to edit. They can be output directly to paper, DWF or image formats using the normal AutoCAD Plot Command. It’s a pity Revit doesn’t have this sort of display effect built in but, until it does, give AutoCAD a go.

More bitten by the CAD blog bug...

Catching up, post AU, and I’ve found a few new blogs to follow:

David Harrington’s ( CADDHELP – http://caddhelp.blogspot.com/

Dwayne Ellis’ A 3D Life – http://a3dlife.blogspot.com/

Trisha found this one for me by meeting the author at AU. It’s not a new blog but is new to me:

Abbie’s Ab's AutodeskBuildingSystems – http://abbie-abs.blogspot.com/

I’ve also taken Mike Perry’s advice and added the BLAUGI Blog to my side-bar links. I thought it was there already, honest!

Avatech's Revit Utilities

  Kudos to Avatech for sharing these free Revit utilities!

CAD Application Development: Avatech's Revit Utilities
We're taking four relatively simple Revit applications that we developed to support our Revit clients, and we're releasing them to the public today.

• Room Renumbering (re-numbering or inserting rooms in a sequence)
• Door Mark Update (to make the mark match the room it swings into)
• Change Case (for UPPER CASE, lower case and Title Case).
• RevitCity Browser

Trigonometry, Revit Parameters and Lynn [last name withheld]

Aaron's post on math, trig and Revit reminded me of a recent conversation. I’d been working with Parameter formulas which meant stretching the memory back to fundamental math like trigonometry. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there…

I warned a friend, who’s a math teacher, she may get a phone call one day if things got too complex for my mathematical abilities*. Lynn [last name withheld] read Aaron’s post in preparation for that call. You may have to earn the next load of Butterfingers!**

Malleristic Revitation: Trigonometry, Revit Parameters, and Scheduling...
I couldn't wrap my head around how i multiplied degrees and Length, to come up with a mathematical unit (besides degree-inch, lol). So i called in a favour:

My good friend Brian (last name withheld) is a Math Specialist at a local school district….

* I liked Math but always did far better at Physics, which often required the same math. This frustrated my Math & Physics tutors. I think it was because Math was abstract while Physics just made sense!

** For reasons only Nestlé can explain Butterfingers are not sold in New Zealand. Guess who has to bring them from the US to satisfy Lynn [last name withheld]’s addiction to peanut buttery junk food. Last time I forgot and saying it was for her own good wasn’t appreciated! She’ll thank me for it on the hills of the ‘Round Taupo.***

*** The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge (Round Taupo) is New Zealand's largest cycle event. It covers a scenic course on 160 km (100 miles) of sealed road around beautiful Lake Taupo. The official website omits mentioning that for a ride around a lake it has lots of hills. This includes a long cruel one towards the end, right where you don’t want it. It’s held at the same time as AU and I have been accused of attending AU just to avoid it. There is some truth to this…

Autodesk Patch Wednesday?

Microsoft have their “Patch Tuesday” but seems this Wednesday it was Autodesk’s turn.

Guess who was about to build a new master CAD deployment but got distracted and ran out of time. Then he arrived at work the next day to find nearly every CAD product had been patched overnight! Procrastination is sometimes a good thing.

Keep up to date with Autodesk Product Support, Updates & Service Packs via RSS Feed at:

http://rss-support.autodesk.com/subscription

Tick the products you want to watch and add the feed created to your reader. Revit MEP isn’t listed but the AutoCAD MEP selection seems to get it as well.

 

See you at the Auckland Revit Technology Conference 2007?

The Revit Technology Conference is coming to Auckland on Monday (27/08). If any readers are attending say hello to the fellow in the Warehouse (blue store development) shirt!

Revit Technology Conference 2007
The Revit Technology Conference is an annual event designed to cater to the needs of the Revit-based CAD community. Founded and run by users of the software, RTC is the pre-eminent educational and networking event for users throughout the region.

This year the team is coming to you!

We are embarking on a series of one day seminars designed to entice, enrich, and enliven your worklife (FDA approval pending...)

Some more BIM & Revit Resources

Here’s a couple of BIM & Revit resources I’ve found recently:

Revit 3D.com
Gregory’s “Revit Encyclopedia” of information

URL: http://www.revit3d.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Revit3dcomJoinTheRevitlution

and

BIM Manager Blog
David Kingham (who shares my hand writing problem) has a blog on BIM.

URL: http://bimmanager.blogspot.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BimManager

HOK Blog!

HOK have a couple of new(ish) blogs looking at buildingSMART (Building Information Model) and Green design. It’s great to see companies sharing their experience & knowledge!

HOK CAD Solutions - Welcome to this HOK CAD Support blog
“This is the idea: let’s use this blog as a communication track to gather knowledge and share; we hope that you will be willing to author posts and share opinions to make this work. Postings will be by HOK and invited guests, viewing is by anybody inside and outside HOK….”

http://hokcadsolutions.blogspot.com/

HOK GREEN BIM - Welcome to my new Green Blog - Miles Walker
I plan to capture my path into green design in architecture…

http://greenbim.blogspot.com/

Also check out Miles' other website on BIM:

4BIM – A web site exclusively for Building Information Modelling

http://www.4bim.com/

Via autodesk-revit.blogspot.com

Tags: HOK, buildingSMART, BIM

Real world tales of Revit BIM’plementation

These articles share tips from the front line where BIM theory meets production reality: 

BIM Do's and Don'ts – Cadalyst
Beau Turner* & Joe Eichenseer (Avatech Solutions) offer some real-world insights for success implementing BIM…

As I’ve recently been investigating Revit Architecture/MEP collaboration this AECBytes article was brilliantly timed. Thanks Lachmi & Bill!

Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration in Revit - AECbytes "Tips and Tricks"
Bill Knittle’ s (Synergis Design) tutorial on “Collaborating in an all-Revit environment” has recommendations & techniques for sharing Architectural, Structural & MEP models using Revit’s linking, collaboration & monitor tools.

* Just this week I was reminded of Beau zooming around on a Segway at Autodesk University 2004 as I had another “CAD + Segway” close encounter. More on that in a future post…

Rev'irritations or Stupid questions of the day?

I know one click does the work of many as parametric magic ripples throughout the model but:

• Any way to get this state of the art application to realise I’m not running 800 x 600 display resolution, it’s not 1998, and get the object dialog big enough to avoid repetitive scrolling to access object properties?
• Any way increment numbering of tagged items?
• 600+ carparks, individually numbered as required by the consent application.
• Now add one, somewhere near the beginning
• Renumber…

Some aspects delight, some frustrate, especially on a cold wet winter Monday!

Revitizing Details

JB has a great post on methods, benefits and perils of getting those old CAD details into Revit.

Converting CAD Details To Revit Details: Just Do It...One way or another - Fear and Loathing In a CAD vs. BIM World

If The office has 1,000 details (traveling West at 65 MPH) and Johnny manages a team of 5 users (and 3 of them play hockey) and each user draws 1 detail a day: When will they be in Chicago?...Uuummm I mean, when will they be finished?

Into the Revit Zone!

Ian has just launched a U.K. based Revit Site & Blog. Welcome to the world of BIM’blogging!

Revit Zone - Welcome to Revit Zone!
The Revit Zone website is now live. I have been planning this site for quite a while so it's quite a milestone to actually be typing my very first blog entry! My Blog is where I'll be wittering on about anything and everything (mostly Revit I hope!)

via Revit OpEd

Building Solutions 2008 Launch - AEC Systems New Zealand

Just got home from the AEC Systems NZ Building Solutions 2008 Launch. I’d not seen any 2008 Revit in action, got the disc not yet installed it(!), so was good to get an overview of what is new this year.

After an introduction from Marcel van Oosterom (AEC Systems Regional Manager), Michael Beer (Autodesk Australia) talked about the shift to BIM – “Experience it Before it is Real" – and how it’s changing the industry. He mentioned that NZ/AU was well ahead of the USA in terms of Revit adoption. I suspect this is because of our generally smaller offices makes adoption easier plus a genuine interest in the technology.

Then it was on to the product specific demos. It’s interesting to see some AutoCAD Architecture (ACA) style functionality appearing in “Revitised” form in addition to new and refined Revit features. Some highlights for me:

• Revit Architecture 2008 – Wesley Benn:
• Updated Groups with object override to hide objects in an instance of a group. Big change is that groups can now be edited in-place within the project with other objects “greying out” while the edit is in progress. You can add/remove objects from the group while in edit mode (similar to ACA Refedit a block).
• Better object visibility and UI feedback. The display viewport gains a coloured outline to warn of hidden/isolated object overrides.
• View Specific Object Display Settings: Override visibility per view. Example might be to make a wall transparent in a 3D view but have it appear solid in another. (Similar to ACA Object Display Override).
• Improved presentation: masking regions, dimensions and colour fill legends refined. New “dependent views” for splitting a large view across several sheets.
• Improved Linked Projects;
• Show in Project Browser
• Nested Linked Projects (ACA nested Xref)
• In-place edit linked projects (ACA Refedit Xref)
• Refined API – More potential for 3rd party developers to extend Revit.
• Revit MEP 2008 – Simon Whitbread:
• Showed system auto-routing and clash detection for ducting & circuit tools for electrical.
• Mentioned IES (Integrated Environmental Solutions) Link
• Revit Structure 2008 – Damien Legrand:
• Export/Import & coordination with external analysis tools (Robobat)
• Curved Splined Elements (beams etc)
• Integrated Parametric Truss Tool
• Better re-bar tools

It was great to meet Aussie “Revit guru” Wesley Benn. I’d seen him at AU several times, speaking about Revit and at the Revit Mixers, but was the first opportunity I’ve had to speak to him. It was also good to meet the Neil Allen, the new Autodesk NZ Territory Manager. I also caught up with a few industry colleagues from closer to home, one I’d only ever previously met in Las Vegas!

That’s a quick overview, because now it’s time for me to pack!

PS: Some of The Warehouse Group team will be at the Autodesk/Salesoft CAD Solutions 2008 Launch tomorrow (24–04–2007), say hello if you see them!

Revitation?

I found Aaron Maller’s Revit blog “Malleristic Revitation” today. If you haven’t already seen it get over there & start reading from the first post in early April 2007. What’s there is great and I look forward to seeing it develop.

Malleristic Revitation - malleristicrevitation.blogspot.com
This is going to be a loosely corralled storytelling, about the revitation, and the things I've learned through it. There are many Revit blogs out there, and many of them have a lot of great information in them: Advice, tips and tricks, release and version information, etc...

I'm not sure exactly what the intent of this one will be, other than to start an informal documentation of my experiences as i traverse Revit usage.

To start off, I've been using Revit for exactly 15 months and 3 days. Certainly not the longest of times, but I've come a long way. I had a mild background with building modeling, having used a few other platforms before taking my current position at DPA (Dal Pos Architects) in Syracuse, NY. (The website can be found at www.dalpos.com). Previously, i used Gehry Technologies Digital Project (V1, R2), Vectorworks, ArchiCAD, and of course... Good old AutoCAD/ADT. Each platform had its ups and downs (although admittedly, i spent a VERY short time with Vectorworks... longer with the others). Since starting with 3D Modeling, ive become VERY enthused about where i see the profession of Architecture going…

Category Management for new 2008 names

Using product names on your blog means re-branding presents some challenges. Do you change to the new name or keep the one most people know. Luckily it doesn’t impact my Blog title or URL but I’ve revised some blog categories (indexes) to reflect recent name changes:

• Architectural Desktop changes to AutoCAD Architecture
• Revit changes to Revit Architecture
• Building Systems changes to AutoCAD MEP
• Auckland AutoCAD User Group now Auckland Autodesk User Group
• I’ve added Revit Structure and Revit MEP but will need to re-index some posts into these categories.

It won’t alter post permalinks and TypePad retains the old category URL. It might say AutoCAD Architecture but TypePad will always know it as ../architectural_desktop/index.html. Seems like some names will never die  

These changes shouldn't break anything but if you have any problems let me know.

SOM and Gehry Technologies' Digital Project

Randall breaks the news that Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) are adding Gehry Technologies' Digital Project to their software portfolio.

I met Darren Rizza in Seoul earlier this year after his presentation on “Pioneering Process Change” about the impact of BIM on the design process. While that focused on The Freedom Tower (and Revit) he detailed SOM’s BIM history and how they apply a variety of BIM technologies to projects, even to the extent developing their own:

“Today SOM deploy a mix of these applications and technologies, from AES to Revit, depending on the project demand and team resources” 
(to quote myself!)

It will be interesting to see how Digital Project fits into the SOM platform mix and where it’s applied.

SOM To Buy 100 Copies of Gehry Technologies' Digital Project - aecnews.com
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), one of the world's best known architecture firms, will purchase 100 copies of Digital Project, the parametric BIM software from Gehry Technology…

Digital Project - www.gehrytechnologies.com
Gehry Technologies ("GT") is a building design and construction technology company that provides integrated, digitally driven construction practice tools and methodologies to companies and their projects.

UPDATE 19–12–2006: James has posted comment on the plans for GT Digital Project:

All Things BIM: Digital Project: The Fuss
It's finally been announced that we have acquired 100 licenses of Gehry Technologies' Digital Project - a modeling software built on top of Dassault's CATIA platform….

Tags: Gehry+Technologies'+Digital+Project

Autodesk University 2006 Day 2 - Wednesday 29th

Sessions Planned;

• 8:00am  Building Solutions Industry Main Stage
• 10:00am  Techniques for Managing Large Projects in Autodesk® Revit® Building
• 1:00pm  Not Your Dad's CAD: Phasing and Design Options with Autodesk® Revit® Building
• 3:00pm  Networking AutoCAD® Beyond Z
• 5:00pm  CAD Managers Toolkit for Knowledge Management Evaluations
• 8:00pm  Industry Reception

The Building Mainstage featured ADT and Revit Building, Structure and much talk of BIM Analysis for Green Building certification. Nothing dramatic in terms of new product/features. The current Revit rendering, limitations of accurender, featured in the Q&A but no commitment when that may improve although Max linking was shown.

    

James Van's (SOM) session on Managing Large Revit projects was very interesting. He is the first person I've seen here present without Powerpoint as he rapidly switched to MindManager. Very cool to see MindManager used to an audience that, it seemed, hadn't seen it before.

Just came out of Beau Turner's session on Revit, Not your Dads CAD. I was a little late getting there & found out the "Sold Out" Sticker was no lie. The large room (500 seat?) was packed with many, including me, left standing, sitting, crouching around the sides. Still it was worth it for a interesting introduction to use of Phasing and Design Options in Revit.

I also got to meet Mark T from AVT RetailFOCUS which was great. He was visiting AU for the day and I last saw him in Orlando at the AVT user conference in Feb. Tonight its the "industry receptions".

Typos removed & photos added 09–12–2006

Autodesk University Revit Mixer

This was the second “AU Revit Mixer” I’ve attended and it seems it will be the last. What started as a small gathering for the few Revit users attending AU has outlived it’s purpose as the Revit family is too large. From not being able to find them, now you can’t miss them!

It was great to catch up with many familiar faces and meet many new ones, some previously just names from the forums & newsgroups. Even better to meet a fellow Kiwi, Phil Smith from Beca, who is attending AU. Its a small world but strange we had to come 11,000km around it to to meet!

Also there was AECbytes Founder/Editor Lachmi Khemlani. I read her articles and often link to them so was nice to meet in person. There were many other names & faces & guess will meet them again at the Revit sessions I have booked over the next few days. It was billed as the last Revit Mixer, but I kind of hope it wasn't.

What's in a name?

The other day I was reading this thinking what does BIM really mean? For that matter what does CAD, or is it CAAD or CADD which I always thought looked like CAD with a typo, mean?

If you accept CAD is Computer-aided Design does that include BIM? I know BIM means “Building Information Model” but that’s Computer, and it Aids, umm Design… (more than CAD does) so is CAD BIM or is BIM CAD? I’d say BIM is more than CAD and CAD isn’t BIM.

That presents some other problems. Tonight I recorded a presentation about our CAD System, or is it a BIM System? Well it’s more than CAD but currently less than BIM. CADIM or CABIM perhaps?

The Store Project information does live in a server location called BIM as that’s where we are heading. Another truly compelling reason, lazy Robin avoiding scrolling in every browse/open dialog, was I couldn't use CAD & it’s closer to the top of every folder list than the alternatives: Retail or Store Design…

Perhaps it’s time to consider my Job Title? It was Retail Design, now CAD Manager/Retail Design, so maybe BIM Manager, or Retail BIM Manager? I must admit Retail BIM’plimenter has a certain appeal but nobody will know what that means. I’m not sure myself, perhaps that’s an advantage!

Then there is the blog: RobiNZ BIM Blog sounds odd, RobiNZ BIM’log?

Or just leave it…

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare

PS: The image is from a children’s book: “The Story of BIM – Written for 3 year  old  Charlotte”, Kathleen Mellor, publishd. Melb. Georgian House  nd.194-? I couldn’t find any other information but would be interested to know more!

Tags: CAD, BIM, CAAD, CADD

(bim)x - a contractors view

Laura takes on the architects with a construction management eye view of BIM. It’s good to see this technology analysed, and being accepted, for other than design. BIM benefits Architects, Design & Construction but a real benefit is the database provided for asset management throughout the entire building lifecycle. In my business, retail, constant change with internal fit-out and its management is a significant overheard as the “construction process” is never really finished.

(bim)x – a contractor's BIM blog

I'm aware that there are already tons of blogs (as well as other resources) out there that discuss BIM (building information modeling) and related practices. However, those resources are unintentionally one-sided; they are produced by the AIA and other architects. This is not to say that they aren't useful; I use these resources daily (in fact, I urge you check out the links to my favorite blogs).

However, as a BIM implementer at a CM firm, I'd like to offer another one-sided resource - but the other side.

Via Paradigm Shift

Realising the Freedom Tower: Pioneering Process Change - Darren J. Rizza - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Introduction;

Darren’s presentation covered Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) evolution from CAD to Building Information Modelling and how it’s being applied to the Freedom Tower Project, the reasons for changing to Building Information Model (BIM) and the impacts of those changes on industry and practice.

These are my notes; Darren detailed these headings with project examples, liberal graphics and video. In a separate presentation he showed BIM use for visualisation. I've added a few links – in italics –  to relevant articles/sites discovered while researching this post which were not directly quoted in the presentation.

Profile;

• Darren J. Rizza - SOM Firmwide Digital Design Director
• IT Systems
• Knowledge Management
• Digital Design Applications

Realising the Freedom Tower: Pioneering Process Change

SOM's BIM History;

Darren outlined SOM's history with BIM which they termed, back in the 80's, "Reality before Reality". At that stage the desire to model projects led SOM to develop AES, an in-house BIM solution created in partnership with IBM. This was used for Frank Ghery's Bilbao Guggenheim Structure & is still in use for some projects.

In the 90's there was a  realisation that an in-house solution was a dead end. It worked but no other partners could use it and sharing information is crucial to BIM. SOM adopted a mix of AutoCAD/Architectural Desktop, which partially addressed the BIM goal.

In the early 2000's SOM was still seeking a true BIM solution. After extensive evaluation of possible technologies SOM adopted Revit as their BIM solution. Today SOM deploy a mix of these applications and technologies, from AES to Revit, depending on the project demand and team resources.

The Freedom Tower Project - "Recapture the skyline";

Darren introduced The Freedom Tower project outlining the process that led to SOM being involved in realising the The Freedom Tower design competition winner.

With a complex site and many interested parties there was a demand for modelling to create and communicate the design. This huge project is, for understandable reasons, employing state of the art security and safety design. The project also has to meet strict environmental guidelines to minimise it's impact and maximise operational efficiency.

In April 2005, with the project well underway, security demands required a complete redesign. The result is an SOM design, a 1776 ft high structure with 69 floors, 2.6 million feet of commercial office space, Restaurants, Observation Decks and Public spaces, in an asymmetrical tower that twists as it rises topped off with a cable stayed broadcast antenna.(Image right Copyright SOM)

• SOM Freedom Tower Project Site - www.freedomtower.som.com 
• World Trade Center Site - www.wtc.com

SOM, Freedom Tower & Revit;

The demand for BIM;

Experience with previous projects convinced SOM a revolutionary approach was needed. Simply coordinating documentation and detecting/resolving interferences consumes a huge amount of resource in a large project. BIM promised to reduce or eliminate these efforts by aiding design visualisation, analysis and document coordination.

Why Revit?

Revit was initially adopted for sub-ground structure only. A "small trial" although small in this case means 15 underground levels of building, subway and major infrastructure! Tower was to be done conventionally in ADT/AutoCAD but after success with the sub-ground portion the Revit team just kept going and completed the whole structure.

The final design uses Revit for;

• Sub-ground, building and interior - Revit Building.
• Building Systems - Massed in Revit Building until Revit Systems was available, now Revit Systems.
• Structure - Revit Structure model being used along with external packages for Load Analysis and Tender detail spec.
• Visualisation:
• Heavy use of Revit Shaded Views - without render - for Design Development &  Client communication.
• Final High Quality output and video production with 3D Max & Combustion.

Collaboration Software;

• Buzzsaw -   Project Documentation
• Constructware -  Tender Process

Review;

• SOM review room uses Tablet PC's + Plasma Screen for digital review
• Revit Model can be reviewed live, Revit Design Options used to aid this.
• Design information is shared using Design Web Format (DWF) and revisions captured with Autodesk Design Review.

Autodesk Consulting;

• Autodesk Consulting are a Project Partner with equal status as typical AEC Consultants (Structure, Services etc) would have in a conventional project.
• They provide; Training, Support, Application & Content Development.

Impacts on Process;

Process Change;

• Traditional Work-flow: 
• People work on sheets creating views (plans, elevations, details etc) with maybe separate 3D Models created for Presentation or Analysis.
• Information/data is structured for presentation on sheets. Layering based on line/view visibility.
• The deliverable is sheets/schedules used to transfer information to Consultants, Clients etc
• BIM Work-flow:
• People create a model  which captures objects and object relationships, all aspects computable for analysis.
• Information structure reflects real world systems and objects with object display based visibility - Layers only considered for output to traditional CAD formats.
• Object relationships, quantities and properties captured.
• The work-flow and workset structure is based on system/function not output (sheet) or visibility as information is simply a report from the model.
• The deliverable is a model from which sheets, schedules and views are simply reports.

The demand to share...

• Freedom Tower Project operates under an Open Information Policy.
• Sharing is not an option.
• Architects share and manage a master BIM.
• Consultants contribute to the shared BIM:
• Structure, Services, Tender Details.
• Later:
• Construction "as builds" will be added to the BIM
• The client can use the BIM to manage the asset.

BIM's shared among all;

• Freedom Tower makes extensive use of linking, worksets and copy/monitor to manage access/updates.
• SOM Maintain Masters which are sync'd across the offices.

When everything is touched by everyone…?

• "Separate Liability" is a legacy concept. Shared Liability, Everyone is responsible.
• Legacy regulatory structures are struggling to cope with this:
• Legal Liability...   [RC: How do you manage that?] Phil Bernstein added that the AIA are reviewing contract documentation in light of new BIM process demands
• Contracts based on segregation...    [RC Don't work]
• Charging is based on project value is dated... The BIM is an asset for the building owner… Should demand extra fees.

Benefits of BIM;

• "Lets Designers think about design, not documentation"
• Visualisation throughout the process
• Design not document focused, until documents are needed
• Coordination is enforced by the system, not dependent on the user
• Easier to offer more options, better solutions
• Analysis
• Interference checking
• Simulation: Energy, Lighting, Structural Behaviour
• Quantity & estimation: Areas, Volumes, Components.
• Time reduction: Instant revision, Live model for review
• Client communication.

Links;

• The Venue was a SOM Project, Korea World Trade Center
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP Standardizes Freedom Tower Project on Autodesk Revit Platform - Autodesk Press Release
• AEC Magazine - BIM and the Freedom Tower

Disclosure;
My travel & accommodation was provided by Autodesk Building Solutions Division, Asia Pacific.
I own both Autodesk Architectural Desktop & Viz Licences – http://rcd.typepad.com/about.html
I use/manage ADT, ABS, Viz and Revit applications for The Warehouse Limited, a retail company in New Zealand.

Tags: Skidmore,+Owings+&+Merrill+LLP, Freedom+Tower, Building+Information+Model

"Transforming Building Process: Ideas Realised" - Phil Bernstein - Autodesk Building Solutions Division

Introduction:

Phil Bernstein’s presentation covered the transition from traditional drawing board, to CAD, to Building Information Modelling as techniques to capture project design information. It covered the reasons for change and the impacts of those changes on industry and practice.

These are my notes; Phil detailed these headings with examples, research and industry examples. I've added a few links – in italics –  to relevant articles/sites discovered while researching this post which were not directly quoted in the presentation.

Phil Bernstein Profile;

• VP Industry Relations & Strategy - Autodesk BSD Division
• Lecturer in Professional Practice - Yale University
• Chair of Contract Documentation Committee - American Institute of Architects
• Architect
• Phil Bernstein Profile @ Autodesk Green
• Phil Bernstein Profile @ Yale School of Architecture

"Transforming Building Process: Ideas Realised"

BIM & Process Change;

The AEC industry is facing increased demand for productivity driven by economic demands, technological changes and new working methods. Traditional process struggles to deliver when faced with the demand for concurrent design, rich information and constant change as the project develops.

Another drive is to reduce waste, both during the design and construction and the impact of the finished building. In the US 1/3 of construction spend is wasted, finished buildings consume huge amounts of energy. Good design can reduce those impacts and to predict environmental impact & performance demands a model.

To meet these challenges the response has been distributed design teams working across companies, industries and around the world. The process is driven by concurrent demands and compressed timetables; design, energy analysis, costing and visual impact all being developed simultaneously, continuously as the project progresses.

To meet these demands the only answer is digital design and collaboration.

• Labour Productivity Declines in the Construction Industry: Causes and Remedies - AEC Bytes
• BIM for Sustainable Design - Autodesk White Paper

History;

We draw because it works but...  it's no longer enough. Traditional drawing, paper or CAD, does not allow the information required to be captured or shared efficiently.

Digital design allows computable simulation models, sharable information database, rapid distribution for review and collaboration that is just not possible with traditional techniques.

BIM protects project knowledge;

Traditional transfer of information in the form of drawings and documents results in loss of knowledge between project stages. A shared Project BIM aggregates project knowledge as it develops creating a resource, a bill-able resource, for the owner to use for the entire building lifecycle.

Clients demand more;

Clients expect/need to see the project before it exists. The planning process, design communication, manufacturing, construction planning, promotion/sale/leasing and operational management all benefit from a complete consistent building model.

"We must move toward more predictable outcomes, Legacy systems will kill us" – Client Quote

What is a Building Information Model;

• Digital Building Representation
• Coordinated
• Internally consistent
• Computable
• Complete

AEC Industry has to change;

• The old segregated model is failing.
• Change being driven by: Regulation, Client demand, Project Complexity, Technology, Global Economy.
• Answers are... Digital Solutions, Collaboration, Sharing responsibility and reward.
• Enabled by: Open information exchange, BIM, Collaboration.

A new model for working: The Integrated Practice;

• Definition From AIA: "What is Integrated Practice?
  Integrated Practice leverages early contribution of knowledge through utilization of new technologies, allowing architects to better realize their highest potentials as designers and collaborators while expanding the value they provide throughout the project lifecycle."
• BIM Evokes Revolutionary Changes to Architecture Practice
  Integrated Practice: It’s Not Just About the Technology

Mention of the new city project near Seoul;

New Songdo City is a master-planned international business center near Seoul, a $25 billion development.

http://www.newsongdocity.com/ 

Direct product related Comments;

• AutoCAD - “There will always be a role for AutoCAD”
• Architectural Desktop - “Will be developed as long as the industry demands it”, “400,000 + users”, “The AutoCAD based productivity solution for building documentation”
• Revit - “Autodesk's BIM platform for the future”

Links;

• Autodesk - Building Solutions - Building Information Modeling – http://www.autodesk.com/bim
• Revit Building – http://www.autodesk.com/revitbuilding
• Revit Structure – http://www.autodesk.com/revitstructure
• Revit Systems – http://www.autodesk.com/revitsystems

Disclosure;
My travel & accommodation was provided by Autodesk Building Solutions Division, Asia Pacific.
I own both Autodesk Architectural Desktop & Viz Licences – http://rcd.typepad.com/about.html
I use/manage ADT, ABS, Viz and Revit applications for The Warehouse Limited, a retail company in New Zealand.

To BIM or not to BIM, is not the question!

I recently attended presentations by Autodesk’s Phil Bernstein and SOM’s Darren Rizza (Freedom Tower) about Building Information Modelling (BIM). Although plainly focused on Revit as “The BIM Solution” the presentations were more about the reasons for BIM, the benefits and some of the challenges of adopting BIM for your projects.

It’s something I've been thinking about, and working on, for years. My view of BIM is from a different perspective to those involved in an AEC practice. Working as a Designer/CAD Manager for Retail Company that owns, leases, operates and has a design/build role for some facilities means the demand for, and implementation of, BIM is rather different from a standard AEC practice. This post was to be about the event, presentations and my thoughts but after many drafts, all too long and messy, I’ve decided the answer is a series of posts.

The first is my notes, my summary of what was covered, from Phil Bernstein’s presentation "Transforming Building Process: Ideas Realised". 

The second is my notes, my summary of what was covered, from Darren J. Rizza’s presentation “Realising the Freedom Tower: Pioneering Process Change” - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP

Future posts will cover my own CAD history, how it has influenced what I do today and the role I see for BIM in Retail Design.

Tags: BIM, Building+Information+Model, SOM, Autodesk

Autodesk Buys Robobat Structural Analysis

Revit Building 9, Revit Structure 3 and Robobat ROBOT Millennium were featured in the recent Salesoft “Roadshow”. The demo showed a building in Revit Building/Structure and ROBOT Millennium analysis playing very nicely together as design changes rippled through the project in all directions.

So I wasn’t surprised to learn, via Ralph’s blog, that Autodesk have purchased Robobat…

WorldCAD Access: Autodesk Buys Structural Analysis.

Autodesk purchases Robobat of France for US$33 million. Its ROBOT Millennium software duz structural engineering analysis, design, and steel & concrete detailing.

Autodesk to Acquire Structural Engineering Software Provider Robobat - Yahoo

"We are pleased to welcome Robobat, their industry-leading software and technology and their community of customers to Autodesk," said Jay Bhatt, vice president, Autodesk Building Solutions.

 

Who's on Revit?

Steve Stafford has created the answer to a common question, who’s using Revit?

Revit Inside - http://www.revitinside.com/
List of firms using Autodesk Revit products and interested in collaborating with other firms doing the same.